Bankhead National Forest and the Sipsey Wilderness

As I mentioned in my last post, we took some time in April to head south and escape the cold snap we were having in southeast Michigan. After five days in Kentucky we had planned on heading home, but the forecast called for more snow. We could stay at the Land Between the Lakes only if we changed sites, as the one we were in was reserved for the weekend. But the only available sites were not that great, and since the forecast in Kentucky called for lows in the mid-30's, and both Karin and I had brought work along, we decided we could stay another week and look for a place farther south, where spring was firmly in control.

I opened up Google Maps and looked for green blobs south of us. What I found, in northern Alabama, was the Bankhead National Forest. Was there camping? Check. Where there trails? Check.
My friend Karin read about Bankhead as we drove, and I was pleased to hear there's a wilderness area within the forest, the Sipsey Wilderness Area. In addition, the campgrounds were on a reservoir, and there were over 1,000 waterfalls within the forest.

Thanks to traffic we got in a bit late, but got a site on the water and set up the camper before it got dark. The Corinth Campground is RV friendly with full hook-ups, which is great when you have a tiny camper with tiny waste-holding tanks. There is also a tent area between the two loops of the campground.

The next day we hung out at the campground, relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. I went for a walk along the trail that linked the two campgrounds and was surprised at how pretty it was. Buckeyes were in bloom, and small streams dribbled over rock ledges. The cove directly behind our campsite was gorgeous, with steep rock walls down to the water. Lewis Smith Lake is actually a reservoir made by a dam on the Sipsey River. I have learned that there are very few natural lakes south of glaciated areas, like in Michigan and Minnesota. Lakes in the south are almost all reservoirs made from dammed up rivers.

View below our campsite. Karin saw her first armadillos here.

Bluets blooming in the woods.

Saturday was another day chilling at the campground, so by Sunday we were ready for a little exploring. The ranger told us about Kinlock Falls, on the edge of the Sipsey Wilderness and very near the road, so we started with that. It was a warm day but noticably cooler by Hubbard Creek. There was a rope swing that I could see would be very popular in a couple months.

Kinlock Falls. These were the biggest falls we saw during our visit, though not the tallest.

Thanks to its mix of hemlock and beech, I could almost believe I was in northern Michigan.

Hubbard Creek below the falls

After lunch we checked out the Natural Bridge Picnic Area, where an easy paved trail lead to the bridge and some really interesting rock formations. The whole Bankhead area is part of the Cumberland Plateau, a geological feature stretching from New York to Alabama. The region west of the Appalachian Mountains was, hundred of millions of years ago, a flat outwash plain formed by runoff from the mountains, and often covered with water. Much like the Ozarks to the west, this area was lifted by tectonic activity, then carved into the rugged landscape it is today by rain forming creeks and rivers. It is typically covered in thin soils, and due to that and its ruggedness was not heavily populated, by Indians or Europeans, until recently.

Natural Bridge Picnic Area

There were some fascinating geological formations down in the ravine leading under the bridge, but I have not been able to figure out how they were made. As far as I can find there's no volcanic activity so perhaps this is just from lifting and twisting.

Crazy rock formations along the trail

The underside of this overhang has been shaped by water filtering through the porous sandstone, carving out holes and  stretching stalactite-like fingers towards the ground.

More crazy rock formations!

Monday rained much of the day, so we set our sights on Tuesday to head into the wilderness area and hike the Thompson Creek trail. Even though it was only about 13 miles from the campground, it took us nearly an hour to reach the trailhead. We'd packed lunch and planned on hiking about 2.5 miles in to a waterfall, but within about a half mile we reached a crossing.

The stream was not particularly deep or wide, but with the inch of rain we'd gotten the day before, it was deeper than it should have been and running swiftly. Downstream in this pic are rocks to hop across, but they were down a cut bank, and the stream bed around them was deep and uneven with jumbled rocks. It would not have posed a problem except we had my two old beagles with us, one of whom is mostly blind, and they would not be able to walk across there without risking breaking a leg. We walked farther upstream but didn't find any other place where I felt comfortable walking across--they all involved taking my boots off and walking barefoot over the stones, something I didn't want to do. I got frustrated and we turned around and headed back to the van.

Stanley and me contemplating our crossing. We ended up rock-hopping downstream at the bend, me carrying the dogs. Photo by Karin.

 Back at the van we had a snack and discussed our options, and fed the dogs, as it was now around noon. While we debated, a younger couple pulled up, about to head out on the same trail. I decided to suck it up and just do it, so we hiked back out to the crossing. As I stood there still contemplating, the couple hiked up, climbed down the bank, hopped over the rocks and headed up the trail on the other side. I felt like such a wimp--the woman was only in shorts, t-shirt and running shoes, while here I was in all my gear afraid to cross the stream.

So I grabbed a dog, tottered across, set him down then went back for the other. It was NO BIG DEAL, and I felt really silly for making such a fuss about it.

Just on the other side, right along Thompson Creek, was this backcountry campsite. I see some backcountry camping in the Sipsey Wilderness in my future.

Backcountry campsite on Thompson Creek.

The trail was pretty easy, though hiking with a blind dog means watching for any hazard he may run into or fall off of. I did still manage to enjoy the scenery, like these beautiful red trillium, which we don't have here in our woods.

Red trillium, or Stinking Benjamin. I wonder who Benjamin was, and what he really smelled like.

Snail on a mossy tree.

The entire area is laced with small streams and rivulets, and we decided this was a lovely spot for lunch. The creek divided and split around several small islands here, and we could see that in heavy rain our lunch spot could be inundated by water. But today it was serene, and we lingered here before heading back to the van.

Wednesday we decided to hike along the Sipsey Fork from the Sipsey River Picnic Area. This is a popular hike, and there was a school bus in the parking lot, which I was a bit dismayed about.

Down from the main parking lot, on the road to the day use area, there's a narrow bridge. We walked down there first to check out the river, and noticed all this debris on the downstream side. We later spoke with a park employee who said the area had seen severe flooding around Christmas last year, and that the water had over-topped the bridge. I was astonished--this bridge is at least 25 feet above the river. That's a lot of water. All along the trail we saw debris stuck in the trees well above our heads, and marveled at the amount of water it would take to lift the river so far out of its banks.

Debris from flooding on the Sipsey River.

This was a bit more rugged than the Thompson Creek trail, but the more arduous hike was worth it--the trail hugs the river on one side, and is crowned by moss-covered rock walls on the other. I lost count of how many waterfalls there were. Getting the dogs around some of them was a challenge, although that was mostly due to Stanley's blindness. And everywhere there were trees growing on rocks.

We did run into the school group, and then we got hung up by another creek crossing. This one was much trickier, with steeper banks, and no good way to get the boys up and down, so we turned back after a couple miles. But the hike was well worth it, even if we didn't go as far as we'd hoped.

The next day once again called for rain, so we opted to do a little birding. There were several species in the park that I was targeting, and I was thrilled to find one of them--a Prairie Warbler. Parts of the forest are still logged, and these regenerating areas create habitat for all sorts of different species. I think we counted twelve of these guys singing along a half mile stretch of dirt road.

Prairie Warbler in Bankhead National Forest.

We stayed in the park for a week, and I loved every minute. I had no idea such a place existed in Alabama, and I'm sure I'll be back some day. Everyone we met was very nice, there are a few small towns sprinkled through the area so there's grocery stores, banks, and a few restaurants as well as laundromats and the like. Next time perhaps we will backcountry camp along one of the beautiful creeks or rivers.

Baldhead River

After a vigorous downhill climb we emerged on the shore of Lake Superior. The gray-green water looked chilly, but at least the fog had lifted somewhat.



Wave-rounded stones covered the shore, making walking difficult.



We found a spot on the banks of the Baldhead River, down the side of a stone dune, to sit and have lunch, while the wind gusted above our heads. After lunch we continued down the trail, which runs along the right bank of the river.



With all the spectacular scenery it's easy to miss the little things.



We came upon an area where a short side trail led to an area of small waterfalls.



Trying to hand-hold my camera using a slow enough shutter speed to blur the water was a challenge. I had left my three pound tripod in the car, so I had to squat, elbows on knees, and hold my breath.












Every time I'm in Superior Country I am amazed at the resiliency of the plant life. My apologies, but I have not yet identified this plant.



Hair bells make the most of thin soil collected in a crack.

I had been checking out an eight foot deep crevasse under the cliff along the river, and as I turned to leave I noticed a rank smell, not unlike mouldering cow manure. I thought, huh, that's odd, there aren't any cows here, then stopped in my tracks. BEAR, some primal part of my brain hollered. I turned around and peered into the dank darkness, then got the heck out of there!

Next: The last leg.

Waterfalls of Pictured Rocks

Pictured Rocks Nat'l Lakeshore is one of those parks that offers a wide variety of things for folks to do. There's the boat tour, of course, but one can also kayak the 35 mile-long Lake Superior shoreline. Canoeing, hunting, fishing, hiking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing are among the others. It's a great place for day hikes, and many people come to the park to view the waterfalls. There are seven within the park, and while it was not a specific goal of ours to see them, we did manage to visit four.

The first falls we saw was Spray Falls, seen at the end of the boat tour. Somewhere near the falls is a shipwreck, but we couldn't see it. All of the waterfalls are more impressive in the spring, of course, and Bridalveil Falls, which is at the beginning of the tour, was completely dried up.

The following morning, on our way to the trailhead, we stopped to see two more waterfalls. Above is Munising Falls, which is actually inside Munising city limits. This 50 foot waterfall I thought was the most picturesque of the ones we saw, falling into a semi-circle sandstone basin covered with mosses and ferns.

Our next stop was Miners Falls, in the Miners Rock area. This was a slightly longer hike (1.2 miles round trip) and the woods we passed through were just waking up to a foggy morning.

Miners Falls features another 50 foot drop but these falls have substantially more water. We could feel the mists from the falls up on the viewing platform, and it seems the heavier spray keeps vegetation from growing very close to the falls.

The last falls we stopped to see were on the trail to the first campground. Chapel Falls has better viewing points but I was already struggling with my load by the time we came to the falls area (I was also having problems with back spasms that had started a few days before). I shot this from above the falls, looking down into the basin. It's too bad that scale can be so difficult to show in a photo as this was pretty impressive looking in person. Below is a pic from the National Parks website showing what the falls look like from below.

The hike back to the car had a side loop that offered views of Mosquito Falls, but we were pretty much done in at that point and didn't make the trip. Maybe next time!

Coming next: Chapel Beach and the amazing Chapel Rock.